What will our Children Do?

I keep seeing ads for solar panels. Pictures with solar panels installed on the roof of peoples homes. Pictures of solar panels in the yard with kids playing next to them. That got me to thinking...do people touting solar energy realize just how toxic it is to make a single solar panel. Do they understand how toxic the dust would be if they broke just one solar cell (there can be hundreds in a solar panel). What will our children do someday, then these panels break down or become obsolete and end up in the trash, just like our used cell phones and lap-top computers? Just how green are these solar panels in terms of the toxic waste generated during their creation and the disposal when they become old.

As with most "green" activities, I suspect this has not been thought through. Or maybe the thinking is similar to the Sierra Club's position on compact, energy saving light bulbs - we know they contain mercury, one of the most toxic substances known to man, but its' only a small amount of mercury (if you break a single light bulb in your home the mercury vapor level in will violate federal air quality standards) but its worth it.

Here's a better idea:

Has anyone noticed how windy it's been lately. I don't know if this is due to climate change or is the norm, but there's always some wind. Generating electricity with wind power (wind mills) is much more environmentally friendly than solar. No silicon wafer, solar panel cells need to be processed, a wind mill cost a LOT less than a solar panel, and wind mills often produce more power than solar panels.

I lived in a house that had both solar panels and a wind mill and often, even with the solar panels turning to track the sun, it was the wind mill that produced the most power.

Controlled Burns Kill

Regarding the smoke generated from controlled burns, the Forest Service does seem to get it. How much is a human life worth? Do they realize smoke from these burns causes people to have heart attacks, if not during the burns, possibly some time after the burn as a result of small smoke particles bypassing any protection your lungs have to offer, getting into the blood stream and reaking havoc with the heart? (photo credit above the New Mexian News article link about controlled burns)

What good is an advisory warning to people who can not just up and move out of town or even out of state when there controlled burns are going on? People may die from this stuff.

What can you do to protect yourself other than go to your second vacation home in another state (as officials seem to suggest you do) :) ....

Staying indoor helps but air from outside will penetrate to the inside:
Get a good HEPA air purifier. The only one tested down to 0.01 microns (the size of smoke particles) is the IQAir Health Pro. I recommend the Healthy Pro Plus.

For more information visit the reference library at Healthy Living Spaces

And read the article about wood smoke being worse for your health than cigarettes.

Contact us at Healthy Living Spaces
(505) 992-9904
http://healthylivingspaces.com

The Gulf of Chernobyl

The Gulf oil spill is a tragic disaster. Birds, fish and wildlife are not the only ones effected. Residents not just on the coast, but near the coast, are reporting oily-like, gas odors in the air that can cause headaches and nausea. Basically, the air quality in these parts is going to be worse than living next to a gas station.
Staying indoors may not offer much help because over time outdoor air permeates indoors.

Healthy Living Spaces can perform air quality testing for these chemical odors and offer some advice on reducing the levels and making the indoor air healthier to breathe. One way is to use an air purifier that has a ton of carbon in it. Carbon is what traps chemicals. Don't be fooled by gimicks and gadgets that claim to clean the whole house. You need to keep that air purifier in your bedroom or office and run it a high speed. It's got to have a fan and move a lot of air through the carbon media. The only brand we recommend is the IQAir Healthy Pro plus.

Next, it also helps to have a whole house air filter. It too, must have a ton of carbon to remove any odors and chemicals. Remember, a HEPA filter is nice but a HEPA filter removes dust particles, not odors. You need both - a HEPA with carbon.

Contact Healthy Living Spaces for more information and product recommendations or read all about how you can choose and install an whole-house air purifir that makes the air healthy to breathe in the new edition of Dan Stih's Healthy Living Spaces: Top 10 Hazards Effecting Your Health, available on Amazon.com.

Read chapter: Recommendations - Furnace filters, Air Purifiers.

EPA requires tetsing of homes built before 1978

If you have a contractor do remodeling work in your home, and your home was built before 1978, the contractor must notify you of new EPA rules governing renovation work as follows.

To protect against this risk, on April 22, 2008, EPA issued a rule requiring the use of lead-safe practices and other actions aimed at preventing lead poisoning. Under the rule, beginning April 22, 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.

EPA requires that firms performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes, child care facilities and schools be certified by EPA and that they use certified renovators who are trained by EPA-approved training providers to follow lead-safe work practices. Individuals can become certified renovators by taking an eight-hour training course from an EPA-approved training provider.

Healthy Living Spaces has a certified EPA Lead Dust Sampling Technician on staff that can perform post-renovation testing in your home to verify hazardous levels of lead are not present after the contractor is done. Contact:

Healthy Living Spaces LLC
www.healthylivingspaces.com

Santa Fe (serving all New Mexico and surrounding areas)
(505) 992-9905
Call for an appointment